Charles Capone murder trial: Stone says he saw killing

MOSCOW - Charles A. Capone had a Satan-like look on his face when he was strangling his estranged wife to death, according to the state's key witness at a Latah County murder trial.

The Tribune will live blog testimony today in the trial of Charles A. Capone. Coverage will be available on the From the Newsroom blog.

David C. Stone said he saw Capone kill Rachael Anderson on April 16, 2010, in Moscow, and then helped his former friend dump the woman's tarp-wrapped body over the Red Wolf Crossing Bridge near Clarkston.

Anderson's family and friends sat in silence, some wiping away tears, as they listened to Stone's vivid version of the missing Clarkston woman's last moments. Stone was on the stand most of Tuesday in Latah County 2nd District Court, where Capone is facing three felony charges, including first-degree murder.

Stone said he had just walked around the corner of the defendant's automotive repair business on the 2200 block of South Main Street when he saw Capone straddling Anderson, with his hands around her throat. She was on her back, not making any sounds, and there was very little movement, Stone told the jury.

"What the (expletive) are you doing?" Stone said, startling Capone.

Capone turned around with a look on his face that Stone said he'd never seen before. "Satan" is how he would describe the look, Stone told the jury. That's when Capone told Stone to shut up and get a hold of himself, before threatening the Moscow man's family.

"You're in this with me now," Capone said, according to Stone.

When asked why he didn't intervene, Stone, a 51-year-old former city of Moscow employee, said he was terrified and worried about the well-being of his then-wife and stepdaughter.

"I just watched somebody kill his wife; I didn't know what he'd do to me," Stone said.

Stone was emotional several times during his time on the stand. Capone paid attention, but showed little reaction to the testimony. Stone will continue answering questions on cross-examination when court resumes at 9 a.m. today.

On the night of the alleged murder, Capone reportedly told Stone to go inside Palouse Multiple Services and get a tarp. The witness said at that point, he tried to gather himself and was still in disbelief from what he'd just seen. He couldn't reach a tarp, so Stone said he went back outside where Capone had Anderson on the ground.

By then, Anderson was not moving but Capone was still choking her, according to testimony. Capone started giving Stone more orders, and together the men carried Anderson into the repair shop.

Stone's Dodge Durango was parked inside, and he said Capone instructed him to open the door and put the seats down. After putting cardboard in the back of the vehicle, they placed Anderson's lifeless body inside and covered her with garbage bags.

Capone and Stone then cleaned out the GMC Yukon Anderson had been driving, and Stone said he later dumped the garbage in a Dumpster at a trailer park on Palouse River Drive. They took the Yukon to the Dyna Mart in North Lewiston and returned to Capone's shop in the mechanic's white pickup truck.

Stone said minimal conversation took place between the once-close friends as they disposed of her body.

"We need to package her up," Capone reportedly told Stone, before the pair wrapped the body in a tarp.

Stone said they weighed it down with heavy snow chains he got from a scrap pile at the Moscow city shop. Anderson was then taken to the bridge in Stone's Durango and tossed into the Snake River, the witness said.

Capone kept reminding Stone to keep his mouth shut, saying everything would be OK because authorities would never find the body, Stone testified.

During Tuesday's proceedings, the jury was shown a video of Stone talking to investigators in the fall of 2013 on the Red Wolf Crossing Bridge. Stone was pointing out the exact spot where he and Capone reportedly threw the "package" into the water.

"What was in the package?" Asotin County Detective Jackie Nichols asked Stone on the video.

"The body of Rachael Anderson," he answered.

On cross-examination, defense attorney D. Ray Barker pointed out numerous inconsistencies in Stone's earlier statements to police.

"I've lied about a lot of things, Mr. Barker," Stone responded.

Barker asked Stone why he and his family went to dinner with Capone a few days after the alleged murder. He also wanted to know why Stone allowed his teenage stepdaughter to catch a ride with Capone after that dinner, if he was so terrified of the man.

Stone said he was "living the lie" at that time and focused on other events that evening, including being tailed by a Moscow police officer.

After Stone admitted to lying at various times during the investigation into Anderson's disappearance, Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson Jr. asked the witness why the jury should believe him now.

Stone said he is a born-again Christian and decided to come clean about his involvement, before any plea agreement was offered. Stone said he finally began telling the truth last year. He has pleaded guilty to charges of failing to tell authorities about Anderson's death and faces a maximum of seven years in prison as part of a plea agreement.

"I'm doing this for one reason," Stone said. "It's the right thing."

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Sandaine may be contacted at kerris@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2264. Follow her on Twitter @newsfromkerri.